The National Park Service has designated approximately 1,500 maintenance and related projects across more than 200 national park sites as “low priority,” according to documents reviewed by the Associated Press and statements from three park service and Interior Department officials who requested anonymity. These shelved projects include roof repairs at Golden Gate National Recreation Area, computer upgrades at Alaska’s Katmai National Park, and routine supply purchases at Yellowstone National Park. The combined estimated cost of the deferred work totals more than $400 million.
The reprioritization occurred as the administration prepared for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. Projects tied to President Trump’s Freedom 250 initiative were placed on a separate White House priority list that received precedence over previously approved maintenance work. The park service is advancing approximately $80 million in White House-backed projects, including $52 million already awarded. Notable among these efforts were plans to rehabilitate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and other Washington, D.C. parks before July 4, though the $16 million reflecting pool initiative encountered complications including sealant deterioration and algae growth.
The deferral of maintenance work comes as the National Park Service faces a broader repair backlog that has doubled over the past decade to more than $24 billion, according to park service officials. The shelved projects have low priority designations with the fiscal year ending September 30, leaving their future timeline uncertain. One official stated that park staff “were told to not expect anything on the low priority list to be contracted.” The Interior Department disputed characterizations of the prioritization process, stating that entries on the low priority list had been “mis-prioritized and were corrected.”
Maine Independent Senator Angus King, ranking member of the Senate’s National Parks Subcommittee, expressed concern that the administration’s priorities in Washington are “more aesthetic than strictly necessary,” potentially diverting resources from parks nationwide. King stated that while he supports setting priorities generally, he objects to the White House priority list being placed atop the existing project pyramid. Officials attributed execution challenges partly to staffing reductions, noting the park service lost more than one-quarter of its permanent workforce and that contracting officer positions were consolidated into the Interior Department with a resulting 20 percent workforce reduction.
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